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RevolutionsIssue No 111 December 2014THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERS OF GREAT BRITAIN

A Company Limited by Guarantee - Company Number 8135399Registered Charity Number 1150255

www.awgb.co.uk

Pablo Nemzoff 1945 - 2014

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Copy deadline for the next edition of

Revolutions

January 11th

Corporate Members of the AWGBFor full information refer to previous copies of Revolutions or the AWGB website

Alan Calders Sandpapers Ltd Abrasives 01538 387738

All Things WoodenUniting craftsmen with lovers of things woodenhttp://www.allthingswooden.co.uk/

Ashley Iles(Edge Tools)ltd Woodturning and carving tools 01790 763372

Auro UKNatural paints, wood finishes and treatments 01452 772020

Axminster Power Tool Centre Tools, finishes and woodturning accessories 0800 371822

Camvac Dust extractors and accessories. 0844 324 6781

Chestnut Products Quality wood finishes. 01473 425878

Classic Hand Tools Ltd Hand and power tools, books, DVDs, and courses 01473 784983

Crown Hand Tools Ltd Range of fine woodworking handtools. 01142 612300

English Hardwoods 07979 251497

Exotic Hardwoods01298 815338

G & S Specialist Timber Suppliers of timber, air and kiln dried blanks. 01768 891440

Goulden Hardwoods Air dried English hardwoods.07891 592067

GPS Agencies Ltd Alternative ivory, horn and black ebony. 01243 574444

Henry Taylor (Tools) Ltd Woodturning & woodcarving tools 0114 234 0282

Hope Woodturning Woodturning tuition, demonstrations, tools and accessories. 01206 230694

ISCA Woodcrafts Timber, tool sharpening and laminating. 01633 810148

John Boddys Fine Wood & Tool Store Ltd. Timber, Woodworking Supplies, Machinery and Courses.01423 322370

Karl Tickle Media Productions (KTMP) Woodturning DVDs 07718 207998

Livingston Decor8 HardwareLiberon, Chestnut and Rustins woodcare. All specialist paints & woodcare paints. Decorating materials and sundries01506 432320

Lovells Workwear Ltd Smocks and aprons. 02920 598327

Mark Raby WoodfinishingFull range of finishing products. Woodturning and carving tools. Pyrography equipment. Demonstrations & tuition.07704 940126

Max Carey Woodturning Trust A registered charity educating the public in woodturning. 07976 402960

Mirka UKSurface finishing products and tools including abrasive discs strips and rolls. Power tools and accessories01908 866100

Bob Mortimer WoodturningWoodturning services for joinery, building and restoration, furniture and cabinet makers.01889 578838

Olivers Woodturning Woodturning tools, finishes, blanks and on-line woodturning club. 01622 370280

Phil Irons WoodturningKillinger, Turn Robust lathes and coursesinfo@philironswoodturning.co.uk

Robert Sorby Tools, lathes, and accessories.01142 250700

RustinsFinishes, speciality paints, cleaners & sealers.020 8450 4666

Snainton Woodworking Supplies Everything for the woodturner.01723 859545 Stiles & Bates Hardwoods and tools 01304 366360

The Toolpost Tools, lathes and machinery. 01235 511101

Turners RetreatComplete range of woodturning tools and courses01302 744344

W.L.West & Sons Ltd. Hardwood timber supplies, Woodturning blanks, carving timber, tools, Record Power machinery finishes, and much more01798 861611

Woodturning Magazine Best selling magazine for woodturners. 01273 478449

Woodworks Craft Supplies Ltd A wide variety of tools01633 400847

Yandle & Sons Ltd Everything for the woodturner01935 822207

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MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE

PresidentRay KeyThe Firs, 53 Weston Road, Bretforton, WR11 7HW

ChairmanAndy Coates14 Newson Avenue, Mutford, Beccles, NR34 7UN01502 476332chairman@awgb.co.uk

Vice ChairmanMartin Lawrence4 Stonechat Close, Kidderminster, DY10 4JF01562 741205trade@awgb.co.uk

SecretarySam WebberSerendipity, Hawthorne Close,Grateley, Hampshire, SP11 8JL01264 889784secretary@awgb.co.uk

TreasurerDavid Atkinson87 Whirley Road, Macclesfield, SK10 3JW01625 541406treasurer@awgb.co.uk

Membership Secretary andData Manager Paul HannabyWindrush, High Street, Drybrook,GL17 9ET01594 544417membership@awgb.co.uk

Health and SafetyJohn Boyne-Aitken27 Rock Road, Trowbridge, BA14 0BS01225 752373swrep@awgb.co.uk Trade and Business Liaison OfficerMartin Lawrence4 Stonechat Close, Kidderminster, DY10 4JF01562 741205trade@awgb.co.uk

Development OfficerPeter Bradwick183 Llantarnam Road, Cwmbran, NP44 8BG01633 873640development@awgb.co.uk

Training OfficerBrian HensbyLandora, Crewkerne Road, Raymond’s Hill, Axminster, EX13 5SX01297 34115brianhensby@awgb.co.uk

WebmasterPaul HannabyWindrush, High Street, Drybrook,GL17 9ET01594 544417membership@awgb.co.uk

REGIONAL REPS

ScotlandDavid Willcocks91a Easter BanktonLivingston, EH54 9BE07738 169561scotrep@awgb.co.uk

NorthRussell Gibbs121 St George’s AvenueDaisy Hill Bolton, BL5 2EZ01942 811169northrep@awgb.co.uk

Midlands Peter Carless20 Packwood Lane, Coventry, CV4 8AY02476 460749westernrep@awgb.co.uk

South EastBrian PartridgeHomeside, Lady Lane, Hadleigh, IP76AF01473 828489serep@awgb.co.uk

South WestJohn Boyne-Aitken27 Rock Road, Trowbridge, BA14 0BS01225 752373swrep@awgb.co.uk

NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Sheila Hugheseditor@awgb.co.uk

FRONT COVERPablo Nemzoff’s

selected piece at the 2013 AWGB

International Seminar

(Photo courtesy ofJonathan Cuff)

DATA PROTECTION ACTYour personal details

are held on computers belonging to Executive Committee members. Your details are held

purely for the use of the Association and are not passed on to any third party. If you object to

your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address being held in this manner then please contact the Secretary.

One Last TimeThe time has finally come to discard my editorial mantle. After eight years and thirty-five editions this is the last copy of ‘Revolutions’ that I shall have had the honour to produce. It also marks the end of a fifteen year association with the AWGB Committee. During that time I have met a vast selection of people, not all of them woodturners. I have also reported on the demise of a number of luminaries in the world of woodturning, the likes of Dennis White, Bill Jones, Bert Marsh, Dale Nish and latterly Pablo Nemzoff. On a personal level I was very sad to record the loss of Chris Lindup, not a name many of you will be aware of, but Chris was Chairman of the Association back in 1999, when I came on board, and made my early days a lot easier than they may otherwise have been.

A lot has happened to the AWGB during my time in the upper echelons, the most important probably being our conversion to a registered charity. The Association, these days, is much more concerned with the introduction of woodturning to those that know little about the craft, than preaching to the converted, as in days past. I look forward to hearing more about some of these initiatives in the future.

One of the elements of the AWGB that continues in a straight line from its inception is the AWGB International Seminar. Over the years this biennial event has brought many turners to the attention of the British woodturning fraternity, who otherwise may never have graced our shores. Many new techniques have been seized upon by our own talent and in many cases diverged into other fresh avenues. Long may this cauldron of innovation keep bubbling away.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors to Revolutions for their input, the advertisers for their continued support of ‘Revolutions’ and the AWGB. Most importantly from a personal perspective, can I thank all those people, committee members and others, that I have had the privilege of working with over the years. For the most part it has been great fun.

Finally whilst I think the Association itself is in increasingly good health, there is one black spot, British Apathy. My decision to stand down has shown once again how it is next to impossible to find good people to take on the running of organisations of any type these days. It has taken almost the entire year to find somebody who is willing to stand up and take on the job, and for that we must all be grateful to Sheila Hughes. I wish her all the best in the job, and can I ask that the membership support her with more articles as I have used up all the back catalogue in completing what, until recently, looked like being the last ever Revolutions!

Lionel Pringle

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Chairman’s NotesI’ve just deleted my Chairman’s Notes for this issue. One click and they were gone, and now here I am re-writing them. I really don’t have the time. However, I decided I wanted to do what many will say I do best: moan.

On October 4th I got up at stupid o’clock, made a coffee, fed the cats and the dog, checked the chickens, and then with a travel cup containing my second coffee of the day I set off for Kettering, for a day long AWGB meeting. At the same time there were ten others doing pretty much the same thing. Except, perhaps, for the chicken checking.

The Executive are unpaid, as it should be, and each of the Executive hold their role because (presumably) they care about woodturning and want to help secure its future, drive its progression, and ensure the safety and quality of training we can offer to AWGB members. They give their time willingly, freely, and (largely) without complaint and over recent years a number of them have seen the complexity and amount of work increase dramatically. Without exception each member has risen to the new challenges and simply “got on with things”. From a personal standpoint I’ve been hugely impressed and often humbled by their ability to achieve what they do. They are about as good a team as anybody could wish to work with.

At that October 4th meeting we discussed “succession”; having people in place to take over Executive roles when the current incumbent retires. There are a couple in place, but we still lack successors for vital roles: Treasurer and Secretary most notably, and Editor (more on this elsewhere). This is all deeply concerning.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the lack of succession could be the death of the Association. Don’t think it won’t, or couldn’t happen. It’s happened before to another Woodturning body.

For 27 years the Association has been run by the same people: not the very same people, but people with the same drive and energy, people with the same vision for the future of woodturning, people with the same willingness to put something in, or back, people who love their craft and want to see it prosper. Good people in my book, the best. Many of whom I have been proud to come to call friends.

If we cannot find similar individuals to step forward and take a role then the future looks pretty grim. Member training courses, demonstrator training, woodturning certificate, approved tutors, demo grants, newsletter, seminar, insurance, travelling exhibition, events, website, forum, advocacy...all gone. All that hard work by all those good people – wasted - lost.

Do you love your craft? Consider putting something in to it. You will at times feel frustrated, overworked and underappreciated, but you will make a difference, you will make some good friends, and you will feel a sense of achievement and of being a part of something worthwhile and valuable.

I’ll step back now and wait for the rush!

Happy and safe turning

But before I go... (I even like the last word when the last words were my own!)This will be the last edition edited by Lionel Pringle as he retires from a long and valued service to the AWGB after publication. Lionel has served the Association for as long as any of us can remember, and has always been a great source of support and good council. Lionel was Chairman when I first came into the (then) committee, and as Chairman steered me through the early days with humour, experience and only the occasional bark. It’s been a pleasure to come to know him and it won’t be the same without him. Enjoy your retirement from AWGB, Lionel. God knows you’ve earned it!

Andy Coates

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Treasurer’s Notes

Christmas GiftsWith the festive season upon us you are probably going to be buying presents from places like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Screwfix, to name but a few. Perhaps you’re going to take a break and want to book a Travelodge?

Don’t forget you can earn money for the AWGB by logging onto www.givingabit.com It’s easy and free.

So far the few people signed up have generated £12.51 for the Association and over £4 of that is down to me! Just think what we could do if a 1,000 of you joined up.

When you join don’t forget to download the widget. It means when you do a Google the sites that support Givingabit are highlighted for you. Couldn’t be easier!

More Christmas Gift IdeasBooking for the seminar? Don’t forget you can get your friends and family to purchase vouchers for you to cover the costs. Simply send me a stamped addressed envelope and a cheque made out to AWGB Trading Ltd for an amount in multiples of £10. Great present for the grandkids to buy!

SeminarThe next seminar will be the best yet! Your Trustees have put a huge amount of effort into taking into account your feedback from the last seminar.

• Some of you mentioned the cost – it’s cheaper than last time – Done!

• You wanted more female demonstrators – Done!

• You asked for a better selection of vegetarian food – Done!

• You asked for more to do on Friday afternoon – Done!

• You asked for four rotations on Sunday – Done!

• And we thought you might like a choice of main course at the gala dinner – Done!

Seminar Booking Options:Complete the form contained within this issue and send it to me directly, paying by bank transfer (preferred) or send a cheque.Complete your application via the website – firstly enter your details and then the next screen will ask you to make your choice of package and take you to the payment screen.

Payment by Credit Card:We can no longer take credit cards over the phone. If you want to use your credit card please book via the website. You can either use your PayPal account or use PayPal to pay as a Guest and enter your details for a one off transaction I look forward to seeing your bookings.

InsuranceYour Trustees have secured a deal with Tennyson Insurance to provide Public Liability and All Risks Cover. I wrote to all Branches and Club secretaries in October. If you are a Branch/Club Secretary and haven’t seen the letter please email ASAP.

The new policy underwritten by Zurich Insurance saves the Association just over £900 per year and the Branches and Clubs will save over £8,000 a year on their All Risks payments. This is possible because of our charitable status.

Please note that we no longer provide any insurance advice. Under the new scheme and to conform to the latest guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority ALL queries regarding insurance must be made directly to the Broker. The Association no longer has an Insurance Officer. Finally, please note that this does not affect any policies individuals may have with Ian W Wallace Ltd. Please liaise directly with Ian for these policies.

Season’s Greetings to you and your families

Dave Atkinson

Membership renewals are due by the 31st of December. To encourage early renewals we will be holding a draw for all members who have renewed by the 31st of January. The four lucky winners will receive an extra year’s membership, so they will effectively have their membership extended to the end of 2016.

All you have to do is to renew your membership by the 31st of January 2015! If you are an existing member, you don’t need to fill in the membership form unless any of your contact details have changed or you want to complete the gift aid declaration. Just send payment to Paul with your membership number on the back of the cheque. If you are paying by bank transfer or standing order, please use your surname and membership number as the payment reference. You can also renew via the AWGB website and pay online.

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Notice is given that theANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

of theASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERS OF GREAT BRITAIN

(A Company limited by Guarantee - Company No. 8135399)will be held at

Oddington Village Hall, Lower Oddington, Nr. Stow-on –the-Wold, Gloucestershire, GL56 0XD,

on Sunday April 26th 2015, starting at 2.00pm.

There are seven Trustee/Director positions on the Executive open for election:

Four General Trustees of which three are new positions.Regional Representative, South-west.Regional Representative, North.Regional Representative, Scotland.

Peter Bradwick has been nominated for re-election as a General Trustee.

The Secretary will request nominations for the Regional Representative positions from the Branches in the South-west, North and Scotland Regions. Russell Gibbs and David Willcocks have expressed their willingness to continue for a further two years in the North and Scotland Regions respectively if that is the wish of the Branches in those Regions.

Any member may nominate himself or herself for a General Trustee position. The nomination does not require seconding. Any member may propose another member for a General Trustee position but only with the permission of the nominee. Nominations for Regional Representatives must be made by a Branch within the relevant region. A statement not exceeding 1000 words (in addition to their name) may be submitted by any nominee for election to the Executive explaining their relevant qualifications for election and why they are standing for the Executive, and they may (but need not) say whether they are willing to accept a position as an Officer, and for which post(s).

All nominations for the General Trustee post must be received by the Secretary no later than the 31 December 2014. If there are more nominations than vacancies a postal ballot will be held in the New Year (2015). If you wish to stand for election please contact the Secretary for details.

The Executive is experiencing an increasing workload, thus candidates to assist in the management of the AWGB in the role of Volunteers will be welcomed. Whilst Volunteers are not Trustees and do not have voting rights, they are responsible for particular functions and carry out valuable work in support of the Executive. It is a matter of regret and concern that no volunteers have come forward at the time of this publication, and the Executive urges candidates to contact the Secretary. Without additional help, the work and function of the Executive will be significantly constrained to the disadvantage of the Membership.

Under Section 324 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Articles, a member is entitled to appoint another person as their proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend, speak and vote at the meeting. The appointment of a proxy must be in writing and notified to the Secretary before the meeting. A Corporate member may nominate a person to attend on their behalf in writing to the Secretary before the meeting.As usual there will be tables on which to exhibit attendee’s work which they are happy to submit for judgment and selection for the Travelling Exhibition coupled with the award of the Chairman’s Prize. There will also be tables on which to place tools and the like for sale. Nigel Fleckney will be in attendance with a selection of his fine timbers for sale.

The AGM will be preceded by a meeting of Members and Branch Representatives which will start at 11.00am.

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGof the

ASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERS OF GREAT BRITAIN(A Company limited by Guarantee - Company No. 8135399)

Sunday, April 26th 2015, starting at 2.00pm.

Agenda

1. Apologies for absence.

2. Acceptance of the minutes of the 2014 AGM.

3. Matters arising from the minutes of the 2014 AGM.

4. Treasurer’s report for year ending 31 December 2014.

5. Chairman’s Report.

6. Announcement of the result of ballot for Trustees

7. Vote on the appointment of Accountants/Auditors for the AWGB.

8. Result of ballot on any resolutions

9. Any other business

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A LETTER FROM THE AWGB EXECUTIVEOriginally, this letter began: “At the beginning of 2014 our Editor advised us that after many years of service, in a number of roles, he would be retiring from an active role at the end of 2014. The requirement for a new editor was announced in Revolutions, and has been mentioned in each edition since. Despite a couple of tentative communications we now find we have no replacement. At a meeting of the Executive in early October it was discussed and decided that should a suitably qualified person not be in place by the end of December 2014 then this edition will be the last paper version you receive”...

However, literally as we go to press, we are very pleased to report that Sheila Hughes has agreed to take on the role with proof reading support from Dave Brookes. Sheila has relevant experience and as she is already familiar with the software used to produce Revolutions she is eager to get on and begin getting to grips with the job. The Executive are extremely relieved that Sheila has stepped up and effectively saved Revs for the membership. That said, at the same meeting the subject of succession inevitably came under a more focused light and serious concerns were raised about the viability of the Association as an entity if more help was not secured from the membership.

The advent of becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee and a registered Charity has led to an increase in workload which has largely been absorbed by our treasurer, but has also had a concomitant effect on the workload of the Executive as a whole. Despite regular calls for assistance from the membership we are still lacking, specifically, succession shadows for the posts of Treasurer and Secretary. These are vital roles within the Association, and the loss of either would sound a death knell for the AWGB. The Executive, like all of us, is an aging group, and without willing and capable individuals to step up and take the reins the Executive fear the very worst. As you will see in the AGM 2015 Calling Notice elsewhere in this edition, we are seeking three more General Trustees.

The AWGB has changed a great deal over the past ten years. As previously mentioned we are now a Company and a Charity, we have grown in ambition, and in the manner in which we can effect positive change and development. We have developed courses for would-be demonstrators to hopefully build upon the body of local demonstrators which clubs can call upon, thereby saving clubs money. We have developed the Certificate in Woodturning which we hope ultimately will be ratified as a City & Guilds qualification. We are just about to roll out a new training scheme which will help to ensure the quality and safety of woodturning tutors across the regions. And there are further opportunities in development. All these things matter. All these things take work, commitment, and energy. All these things make woodturning in the UK a safer, more secure hobby with positive prospects for the future.

We need your help to ensure that we can continue to do this work.

The Executive of the AWGB

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My Friend PabloDavid Springett

Many of you will have known Pablo Nemzoff, having met him or seen him demonstrate at one of the AWGB seminars at Loughborough. Sadly Pablo died last July. This photo of Pablo, myself and Paul Coker was taken at the seminar in 2013.

I first met Pablo at the 2005 AWGB seminar where we were both demonstrating. Shortly after that event I accepted an invitation to give a woodturning demonstration in Israel, for the group of woodturners of which Pablo was a member. He invited my wife and me to stay at his home for the week where we enjoyed some excellent meals with his wife, two daughters, husbands and grandchildren. We were exceedingly well looked after by both Pablo, his family and other woodturners, but it was Pablo’s enthusiasm and non-stop visits to numerous remarkable Roman archaeological sites, towns like Acre and Caesarea, a stay in Jerusalem and a swim in the Dead sea that made our trip truly unforgettable.

Pablo was an excellent tour guide and made it seem almost as if the woodturning demonstration was an afterthought and that the tour was the main reason for our visit. But I did spend two whole days demonstrating and enjoyed numerous meetings with other woodturners to discuss our craft.

Pablo was a passionate woodturner. He had a small, well equipped workshop at his home in which he produced beautiful work. He had an insatiable curiosity when it came to woodturning techniques, visiting some of the top woodturners for tuition, even travelling to New Zealand to take a workshop with Graeme Priddle. He was quick to master any technique he was taught, his skills as a dentist providing him with particularly fine control when using drill and burrs!

Following our visit to Israel Pablo always came to stay with us both before and after the AWGB seminars of 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013, and each time he came he gave us wonderfully well-crafted pieces that he had made.

It was fun having Pablo as a friend at the seminars. At breakfast, coffee break, lunch or evening meal we would discuss the demonstrators we had seen, those we intended to see next and the techniques and methods we found interesting. Pablo’s many woodturning friends were often a part of these lively debates.

In August 2013 he persuaded a group of six Israeli turners to join him in Loughborough for the seminar, following which four of those turners visited my workshop. I am so pleased that Pablo arranged this for we all had a most memorable day ‘playing’ on my Rose Engine lathe.

I will attend the 2015 seminar but it will not be the same without my good friend Pablo.

Pablo (left) in conversation with myself and Paul Coker at the 2013 Seminar

Two instanly recognisable pieces of Pablo’s work

Man: “Your place or mine?” Woman: “Both. You go to yours and I’ll go to mine.” Man: “So what do you do for a living?” Woman: “I’m a female impersonator.”

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A Journey in Making Chinese BallsAlex Francis

It would take far more space than is available to give full instructions on how to make Chinese Balls. This article is about my journey so far and hopefully will help anyone get the information available from others far more experienced in making these interesting turnings than me.

How it all startedTravelling to our wood turning club (Strathclyde Woodturners), a journey of some 40 miles, my travelling companion handed me David Springett’s book “Woodturning Wizardry” to look at. He had been given it for Christmas and being a fairly inexperienced turner found it way beyond him.

Always looking for something different to turn, I decided that I would like to try some of the turnings. David makes much of using Boxwood for these items, I must state that I have an aversion to buying wood for turning, however I decided on this occasion to bite the bullet and buy some Boxwood. Looking at the various wood suppliers sites I could not find any that was more than 50mm diameter. So I then went to the old favourite fleabay and found some small logs there. I placed bids on 1 or 2 but being a bit mean did not bid high enough.

I decided that I would try it with some beech and cherry which I have had in my wood store for 7 or 8 years. They had been cut into smaller pieces about 5 years ago. The ends were well sealed and stored in a dry place with plenty of air round about them so they were probably as dry as anything I could buy.

I sent for the Crown ‘Springett’ Chinese Ball Tool Set and while I was waiting for it to arrive I turned some spheres as close to 2½” as I could.

I then marked out the spheres according to David’s book and then made a sphere holding jig. I went straight into a full 5 piece Chinese Ball following the instructions. The ball kept turning in the jig. I stuck sandpaper to the inside of the jig and started again. I drilled the first hole in the end grain and reamed it out using the Crown Tool. Using the longest cutter, I carefully cut to the farthest in the groove and put a hardwood plug in that I had previously made, carefully marking it as instructed and turned the ball round to the opposite end grain. I went through the same procedure and then started on the other holes. This is where the problems arose. When cutting the groove, once the cutter reached the plug the different density caused the cutter to catch and the ball turned in the jig. I persevered for a while, and then discovered that because my sphere was not exactly 2½” diameter the holes made by the Crown Tool were too big and the space between them was so narrow in places that it was breaking away. I almost gave up at this point but by this time I had the bit between my teeth and was determined to master the technique.

I searched the internet for some more information and found Magical Wood Products at http://www.magicalwoodproducts.com. Here Joe Skehan has started to document some information about making these balls. Unfortunately he has only got one of the tutorials on the web site but it is the most important one “Making a 1 Level Ball”. To save going back to my school trigonometry I blatantly stole the calculations already done by people like David Springett, Joe Skehan and Claude Lethiecq. I am now used to working in metric measurements so the sphere used will be 63.5mm diameter. When I finish off the outer end of the sphere I will mark that end with my drive centre to give me a starting point for marking out the hole centres. For 6 holes I multiplied the diameter of 63.5 by 0.707 = 49mm and for 12 holes I multiplied the diameter of 63.5 by 0.526 = 33.4mm.

I followed Joe Skehan’s instructions for making a single level ball and found that fairly simple. I practised it using different types of wood and became reasonably proficient.

Joe did not have the tutorials for the next stage on his web site so it was back to Google to find some more information. I found http://www.morewoodturningmagazine.com/magazine.php.

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This magazine is edited by Fred Holder and he has written a book ‘Making the Chinese Ball’ or ‘Five Concentric Spheres’ which is available to download in PDF format.

In his book, Fred shows how to make a sphere chuck from plumbers fittings. Unfortunately the fittings used in US are different from UK. He uses 2” and 3” fittings. Ours go from 1½” to 4”. I have made a couple of chucks from 4 inch compression fittings but find that they are difficult to tighten sufficiently. I drilled holes and dug out the tools for tightening my old Multistar chuck. This worked for a little while, but after some time the threads must have worn and the ball started slipping. I went back to using the chuck with the four screws and a long Phillips screwdriver to tighten or slacken them. I have continued using this type of chuck except that I now use an electric screwdriver with a long extension bit.

To prevent the ball slipping, I tried sticking sandpaper inside the chuck, as advocated by David Springett. I did not find this helped much. I then tried spraying contact adhesive inside and letting it dry. However I now squeeze hot melt glue inside and spread it round with a curved scraper. Every so often I just remove it with a round nosed scraper and start again.

I made 12 hardwood plugs to fit the holes but had a problem getting a really tight fit. So I melted some

wax and coated the plugs with it and this gave me a good fit. That was fine on the first two holes but when cutting from the next hole the tool caught one of the plugs and this then moved the ball in the chuck no matter how tightly I had it held. Fred in his book advocated machine wax. I got some, made moulds the same size as the holes in the ball and made wax plugs. This worked better but machine wax is either bright blue or bright green and the dye from it makes a mess of the ball. It is then a lot of work cleaning the inside balls.

I now make plugs from softwood (a pine broom handle). It is not easy making plugs to get a perfect fit in each of the holes so there are a couple of methods I use to get the plugs to fit. One is to use a little hot melt glue to stick the plug to the outside ball which is the easiest one to clean. The other is to melt paraffin wax and coat the plugs with it. Then when fitting the plug, dip it into more hot wax to build up a thickness and push it into the hole. The wax hardens quickly and holds the plug in place. Using softwood, I find that when the tool hits the plug it cuts through with no problem at all and does not move the ball.

I made some 2 and 3 stage balls then went on to other shapes inside the ball. I have now successfully made a number of 4 level balls. I found that I needed a handle for each of the cutters so that I could complete the undercutting in each hole without having to change the cutter. This made the creation of these balls so much easier.

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I have not managed to successfully make a five level ball and since I have been working up to this I still use forstner bits to drill the holes. I have cut Perspex discs and glued them to the bits to create depth gauges and it is a simple matter to change the bit using a keyless chuck in the tailstock.

I purchased some 63mm wooden balls on Ebay and found them to be quite successful. I think they are birch but I can’t be sure. However I decided I would try an experiment. A while ago I acquired a load of Yew. Unfortunately because of the size of this Yew Tree, the surgeon had to cut much of it into very short logs so that he could lift it. Many of these logs were only 6 inches in length. I cut one of them into blocks and decided to try using one of these blocks. I turned a sphere and quite easily made a four level ball. I discovered that as long as I kept the cutters sharp and finished the four level ball in an afternoon then I was able to do it without it distorting before it was finished.

I have found this journey fascinating and will continue to expand my knowledge of these Chinese balls, trying different woods and methods until I become

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The Cheshire ShowRussell Gibbs

Treasurer David Atkinson and I met up in a field next to the Cheshire Show at Tabley just off Junction 19 of the M6 and after dropping off our caravans headed off to find the AWGB stand on the Showground. Cheshire is one of the biggest shows in the country and it soon became apparent that it was the size of a large village.

We located the stand next to the Shire horse ring and the police dog demonstration ring and quickly set about getting the exhibits on display and front of house position for Dave’s lathe. We quickly made new friends with our neighbours before locking up the stand and making our way back to the caravans. Following a civilised glass of G&T (it is Cheshire) we sunned ourselves in the light and enjoyed a meal alfresco making more friends with our fellow campers. Bright and early we were at the stand the next day and soon the visitors were flooding in, despite our gloomiest possible predictions we were inundated with the interest that the exhibits and Dave’s turning generated.

We started a competition in conjunction with the police dog handlers, whereby punters could take home one of the exhibits FOC, if they could manage

to outrun the dogs, many tried but thankfully the best could only manage 20 meters before being badly mauled … ohh how the crowd laughed. Don’t worry Stuart (Mortimer) we have managed to get the teeth marks from your Pink Ivory Hollow form with a bit of 80 Grit.

The day didn’t slacken off until about five in the evening and at about six we returned to the caravans to sample the delights of Dave’s kitchen, and once again set up the table outdoors to munch a pleasant Rib Eye Steak with an assortment of vegetable’s and a couple of glasses of Red Wine, “Hey I could get used to this” Dave said.

The next day was just as busy and we were joined by Adam Evans, treasurer of locally based Cheshire Guild Woodturning Club. We had visits from the shows organisers, vice presidents and members who were very impressed and thought that it was “great to see the exceptional work on display but also see the work in action.”

Dave spent an hour coaching a young chap (14) called Jamie, who was desperate to give it a try and we were thanked by his parents for taking the time to let him have a go, (I’m not sure we should have let him as his beads were far superior to mine). I look forward to seeing him again at my club in due course. He was one of many who were pointed to clubs across the region and others encouraged to dust off long forgotten lathes. We managed to sign up a couple of members but more importantly, I believe, we managed to show a huge group of people just what is possible in the world of woodturning, many people were shocked to be told that all of the exhibits we actually made of wood.

We managed to pack away our goods and after hooking up the vans struggled through the departing traffic to arrive at our respective homes at gone nine in the evening.

I think that we (The Association) have done the right thing in moving away from the wood oriented shows and I look forward to the next outing and would like to thank both Dave and Adam for their company at the show.

14

Alternative method of woodturningIan Salisbury

I have been woodturning for four years, and of late have got bored with turning just round objects, and hearing repeated talks on how to use gouges, although these talks are very important for newcomers to woodturning. Other areas covered in talks seem to be taking us away from woodturning into other related areas of painting and cutting wood off lathe, not developing the art of lathe woodturning.

I work at Tyntesfield, a National Trust property, as a volunteer house guide. One of the owners of the house in the 1890’s had a Holtzapffel ornamental lathe (no longer with the NT) claimed to be the best. I have been able to see some of the ornamental turned pieces, turned during the period 1860 to 1906.

It occurred to me seeing these ornamental objects, that the present day woodturners are sleep walking, and not thinking of how we improve the woodturning art. We are being diverted into painting and mechanical shaping wood off the lathe, we must ask how can we improve our turning ON the lathe, if we are going attract more people and extend the interest in the art of woodturning and make it fun.

The only analogy I can make is when Frank Whittle submitted an idea to the Royal Air Force in 1929, that aircraft could be propelled by expelling hot gas at high speed from the back of the aircraft, using the gas turbine, they said it was impracticable, and decided to stay with the old fashioned propeller, and we all know the result, very limited performance.

I look at the present gouge used for turning as the propeller, its use is limited to turning round objects, and we need the gas turbine approach to make the quantum leap, in being able to turn objects with detail on them.

It took the woodturner thirty years to realise the chuck used in metal turning could be used for woodturning, it is now ninety years since ornamental turning went out of fashion, (I think the Society of Ornamental Turners may take serious issue with this remark – Editor), but if we look at the technology of ornamental turning, we can see that this may be the gas turbine we are looking for.

Ornamental turning makes use of a rotating cutter and moves the work in relation to the cutting tool, there is no reason why we should not use a rotating cutter, everybody seems to think that we have to use the gouge, but we do not!

Most people think that Ornamental turning uses very complicated machinery and is very expensive, and therefore impracticable for most people, and that

is true if you wanted to buy one of the old lathes which could cost many thousands of pounds, but if we approach the design with modern parts it can be made very cheaply.

I am a member of the Bristol and Avon Woodturners and a while ago I demonstrated a home-made prototype platform which can do simple ornamental turning when fitted to a standard lathe, (this platform can be made for £40, if you have basic wood skills). This device can do simple ornamental turning and by means of an inbuilt cam arrangement it is able to profile shapes which the turner designs to the shape he wants to cut, and gives amazing advancement to lathe woodturning.

Details of the platform used to achieve Ornamental turning.

The tool mounting platform has been moved to expose the ballbearing draw slides (these cost £3.70 per set of two). Similar slides are under the cam follower assembly. The platforms are made of MDF (cost £6.00 for a sheet 2ft x 4ft).

Photo 3 shows the assembly with the cam mounted next to the chuck, and the cam followers in contact

15

with the cam. As the cam rotates it moves the cam assembly sideways, which transmits the movement, via a link movement marked A, (photos 1 & 2), to the XY table, which holds the cutting tool assembly. The cutting tool assembly is a small XY table to allow the setting of the cutting tool, cutting tool is a small slot milling bit, driven by a micro drill with a flexible drive.

The item marked B, (photo 1 & 2), is the cam follower assembly, which converts the cam profile to a side to side movement.

For cutting side to side movement.The item marked A, (photo 1 & 2), is a beam which transferrers cam assembly movement to the platform holding the cutting tool, which will move side to side across the lathe bed.

For cutting forward and backwards movement. A right angle metal plate joined the the cam assembly,( you can see this in the photo just under the chuck), will transfer the cam assembly side to side movement to the top tool platform, and due to the right angle, will move the top tool platform forward and backwards, in line with the lathe bed.

Cutting toolThe cutting bit is a slot milling tool, which is able to drill holes needed for piercing, and then can be moved sideways using the edge of the bit for slot cutting. In the turned examples shown, a 3mm cutting bit was used.

The driving force for the cutting bit is provided by a Micro drill from Proxxon , any micro drill will do with a flexible shaft, photo 3.

Tool assemblyIn photo 3 I am using a Proxxon KT 70 Micro XY table cost £80, but you can make own XY table out of wood, see photo 4

The camsThe cams, photo 5, are made by drawing out the cam design on paper, then glueing it to 6mm MDF sheet, cutting round the design and coating the outside

edge with superglue, which case hardens the edge to ensure smooth running of the cam follower.

The cam design profile which is custom designed by the turner, transfers the design via the cam follower to the table holding the cutting tool. This moves the rotating cutting tool in relation to the work, this has the ability of profiling different shapes, piercing and embellishment of parts.

16

Cam chuck assemblyBetween the lathe headstock and the chuck we have to insert a face plate to hold the cam, Axminster tools supply a chuck hub (£10 cost) intended for bolting to the workshop wall to store chucks, this is ideal to bolt on to the face plate to hold the chuck, thereby giving access to the face plate for mounting the cam, photo 6.

In summary you can see we now have the capability to make very advanced turned pieces using your standard lathe, just by adding a platform to the lathe.

After you have turned the part using the gouge to get to the shape required, by adding the platform to the lathe, you are now able to add the decorative finish to your piece

This technology extension allows you to perform, profiling, piercing and embellishment all on the lathe, which adds a new dimension to the turning world, making it fun and holding the interest of turners who get tired of just turning round objects. This will extend the art of woodturning and allow people to be creative, adding a whole new dimension to woodturning.

I feel that this a major advancement in wood turning art, we lost this art 90 years ago when ornamental turning went out of fashion, and it has taken too long to remember the significant advancement it can bring to woodturning.

Photo of parts turned Shown in photo 7, these parts are turned on a standard Axminster Hobby lathe in one operation, put the wood on the lathe and take off the finished part.

As you can see in the photo, the lathe is now able to do profiling to different shapes, piercing and embellishment, using the same technology of the Ornamental turning machines, by using a rotary cutter and moving the rotating cutter in relation to the wood to be cut.

This enabling technology will allow an expansion in the ability of artists who want to make wood jewellery with metal inserts and to create new and different shapes in wood, the pen maker can now decorate the outside of the pens, making wood boxes of different shapes on the lathe is now possible.

Piercing to form lattice work is easy using a rotating cutter, as the energy and cutting is contained within one tool, unlike the standard cutting with a gouge, where the cutting energy is in the rotating chuck and cutting by the use of a gouge, making lattice work impossible. This alternative way of cutting with the rotating tool allows us to develop a whole new range of products and designs, it is a major breakthrough in woodturning.

FootnoteThere a number of social advantages this alternative woodturning method brings.

1/ There are people who can never gain confidence or in fact they lose confidence in working with the gouge, this can come with old age which we all reach, disability, and the young.

2/ We talk about attracting new people to this wood art, it is only a small step to make this computer friendly, by adding a stepping motor to the XY drives on the tool assembly and a read out on the lathe shaft, computer added design will replace the need for the cam.

Making it computer friendly this will attract new turners and future proof the woodturning art.

17

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18

AWGB International Seminar 7th to 9th August 2015 Booking FormAccommodation on campus is en-suite single room and there are a number of accessible rooms. Further double accommodation is available at The Link Hotel www.linkhotelloughborough.co.uk or Burleigh Court www.welcometoimago.com which you may book separately. If you want to book at either of these hotels you should call reservations directly on 01509 633033 and quote event reference 178710.

We are pleased to offer a range of attendance options. Please select the quantity required and if you’re having dinner with us on Saturday don’t forget to select your main course.

Package Description Cost (inc VAT)Quantity Required Total Cost

AFull attendance at seminar including campus accommodation (en suite room), all meals and seminar banquet

£375.00

B Full attendance at seminar including dinner on Friday and Saturday, but NO overnight campus accommodation £290.00

C Friday attendance (includes lunch but not dinner) £60.00

D Saturday attendance (includes lunch but not dinner) £90.00

E Sunday attendance (includes lunch) £90.00F Add Dinner Friday £20.00G Add Dinner Saturday £30.00H Companion coffee/tea and lunch per day £32.40

Total Cost

If you are having dinner on Saturday evening please make your choice of main course.

Meal Description Quantity required

1 Chestnut cottage pie – poached chestnuts, onions, carrot, cauliflower, lentils & dates topped with a sweet potato mash (vegan) (n)

2 Roasted polenta layered with roasted aubergine, peppers, basil, courgette, beef tomato with an oat & shallot crumb with tomato & black olive sauce (vegan)

3 Pan seared free range chicken breast with a mushroom filling served with roast cherry tomatoes & peppers with a red wine sauce

4 Classical beef bourguignon – slow braised beef in a rich burgundy sauce garnished with glazed button mushrooms, baby onions, bacon lardoons and fresh parsley

Name (as you would like it on your badge)

Address (inc Postcode)

Email addressTel NumberMembership NumberMay we print your address and email in the delegate pack (delete as appropriate) Yes/No

Please advise any particular requirements (diet, access etc)

Payment: 10% deposit on booking, remainder due 4 weeks prior to the seminar. I have paid by cheque/bank transfer/international bank transfer (delete as appropriate). We are unable to take card payments by telephone. Card payments can be made on the website by PayPal or by sending a payment in PayPal to treasurer@awgb.co.uk

Signed: Date:

Payment by cheque payable to AWGB Trading Ltd, orBank transfer to sort code 09-01-28, Account number 41132390 (use family name/2015 as reference) orFrom overseas IBAN: GB75ABBY09012841132390 (use family name/2015 as reference)

Please send this form (with cheque if appropriate) to:David Atkinson, 87 Whirley Road, Macclesfield, SK10 3JW

Tel: 01625 541406 / 07810 648344 e-mail:treasurer@awgb.co.uk

19

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20

21

21st CelebrationsDave Smith Thinking back I can remember it well when someone at one of our many meetings said “hey, the Suffolk Mid-Coastal Woodturners has been going for 21 years now, let’s have a celebration to commemorate the occasion”. It seemed to be a very good idea at the time and a plan was to be drawn up by a very cautious committee. The idea of let’s all sit back and celebrate, have a party with food and drink is not that simple, sorry, but these things just do not happen on their own, we all knew and realized this was to be no easy walk in the park with a lot of hard work ahead. We slept on the idea for few weeks until the time came when we could no longer delay it, we would have to move forward if this celebration was to happen.

At our next demo evening we presented the membership with three options, and to seek their support and backing a full discussion was held. The chosen option was a weekend event on the 9th and 10th of August to be held at our headquarters (Dallinghoo Jubilee Village Hall). At this stage we needed to know what our objectives were, and what we were going to include to achieve those objectives? We concluded we had two objectives, (a) to celebrate our 21 years in existence by opening the club to the general public, supporters and friends to show and demonstrate what we do, and (b) to raise funds for two local hospices and with this in mind a full scale plan was devised.

The plan was set and it was decided to split the event into individual sections with a team leader responsible for planning their section with the chairman acting as the central focal point. All the progress and updates from any particular section were forwarded to me from each section and this information was passed on to all other sections, thus the whole team were aware of exactly what was happening within the whole event. This worked very well throughout the planning process.

For the first objective ‘celebration’ we decided to have a gallery table to display the member’s work, a club competition asking the public to vote for a winner, a history/information table displaying photographs and information on the progression of the club and woodturning and pyrography demonstrations on both days. Members of both the hospices attended, with Andy Coates and Brian Partridge representing the AWGB, they were demonstrating on one lathe while our members were using a second lathe.

For our second objective ‘fundraising’ we created a sales table where the members had turned and donated items to sell to the visiting public, a tombola stall, refreshments and a grand draw.

At the next update with our membership, the question was raised “this is supposed to be a celebration, sounds like a lot of hard work (the committee were the first to agree), where is the fun element?” With this point taken on-board the committee decided to add ‘the fun element”. We achieved this by including fun and games outside (all under tents), hands-on pyrography, badge making and bubbles and balloons for the children. We also had bowling and other challenges (guess the valuation, weight, mileage and the good old favourite ‘Smack the Rat’) with prizes for the winners, all these outside activities, admission and car parking were free! We had the philosophy that if we made these outside activities all free the general public would feel relaxed and come in and spend freely indoors.

We quickly indentified that two main factors needed to be pitched at the highest level, a very good publicity campaign and to provide lots of entertainment and facilities at the event for the public to enjoy. The two sections which required instant input were the launch of the publicity and the Grand Draw.

Publicity used many outlets, local magazines, press, radio, flyers, posters and websites. For the Grand Draw, prizes had to be secured so that we could go ahead and arrange for the tickets to be printed. We approached many local and national businesses including Toyota of Ipswich, Deben Inns, Milsoms Hotels, Record Power Tools, Robert Sorby, Classic Hand Tools, D J Evans, Crown Tools, Chestnut Products, Ipswich Town Football Club, Fein Tools, Wyevale Garden Centre, and even our good friends Andy Coates, Mark Baker, Albert Lain and our president Mr Peter Taylor who were all very supportive and generous, with over 24 prizes worth more than £1600 being donated. Whilst all this was happening the other sections were developing nicely with members donations being promised.

Our next big challenge was to ensure all the extras tents, chairs, tables, signs, PA system, games and of course the Ice Cream van were arranged and the logistics of transporting them all to Dallinghoo for the weekend were all in place. The one most important thing we almost overlooked was ‘the major plan’, to ensure everything would fit inside and outside taking into full consideration the dreaded ‘Health and Safety’ regulations, especially ensuring that the

22

public and vehicles did not clash in the car park area and we had allocated the correct manning levels on each section to ensure the safety of everyone attending.

Now that all the hard work of planning was complete and all the publicity from posters to road signs in place (with the support and kind sponsorship of £250 from the AWGB) we could concentrate on the finer points such as how many people could we expect? This of course would help to decide how many plastic cups, plates, tea bags and even toilet rolls we would need.

With everything in place, the morning of Friday 8th arrived and an army of 30 enthusiastic and keen members/helpers descended on the village hall to start the setting up. The master plan came out, precisely noting the exact position of each stall in the hall, each position of the tents, gazebos, games and the car park layout. But as in a war zone the first thing to go out of the window is the plan, in theory – great – in practice not so great. After a few hours everything seemed to fall into place nicely, with few minor alterations. All the inside stalls were fully loaded with their displays, plus bunting and balloons, PA system and it appeared that everyone was happy with their setup – brilliant!

The outside also took shape with an equal amount of enthusiasm, with four large tents, four gazebos and the large bowling alley all being erected complete with signs and bunting. The pride of the outside space was the tea tent complete with table cloths, flower centre pieces and balloons, it looked a treat. Because of all the equipment, and for security reasons, I decided to stay on site during the weekend in my caravan, I’m too old to sleep on wooden floors. The outside bunting I mentioned became a thorn in my side, it took three trips out of bed and two sleepless hours to discover it was not intruders setting off the security light but the bunting flapping in front of the sensor, down came the bunting.

The big day arrived with many members/helpers there early to start at 10-00. We did not have to wait too long for the first members of the public to arrive, first a small trickle and then a steady stream. Yes our publicity efforts had paid off! At 11-00 Andy Coates, as chairman of the AWGB, made a small speech and officially opened the event. From then on it was non-stop all day with the public asking lots of questions from our members, supporting all our stalls, thoroughly enjoying the free games and demonstrations outside and the bargains on the sales table being purchased very quickly.

We were all so relieved that the day had gone well without any hitches, even the car park system was running like clockwork. My bonus of the day was that another member and his wife brought along their motor home and joined me on Saturday night

which we all spent eating good food, drinking wine and counting lots of money, what a way to round off the day.

Now Sunday, weather wise was a totally different day, we experienced the remnants of hurricane “Big Bertha” with very strong winds and heavy rain in the morning, naturally it kept the public away, but although the strong wind continued it brightened up and the public began to arrive in good numbers. Because of the strong winds we had to take down all our gazebos for safety reasons and condense our programme into the larger tents, no problem. Despite the bad weather on Sunday we actually took only £200 less than the day before and I believe it worked in our favour with the public deciding to visit us rather than go to the beach. We rounded the weekend off by presenting some awards and making our Grand Draw, the 1st prize being a Toyota GT86 sports car for a weekend and the event was officially closed at 4-30. After three very busy and exhausting days all we had to do was clear everything up! To my surprise the enthusiasm and willingness to help was still there by all the members/helpers and as one big team the tents came down, tables folded, chairs stacked, hall cleared of all decorations, kitchen clean as a pin and the whole site was cleared by 6pm. All the equipment was loaded on the trailer ready to be stored overnight in Ipswich before being taken back to its owners on the Monday, I still had to return to finally collect the caravan, and I finished at 10pm.

As I mentioned at the beginning we had two main objectives, (a) to celebrate our 21 years in existence, (b) to raise funds for two local hospices. Looking back I believe “we the club members” not only achieved but exceeded our objectives. In the case of (a) we were proud to promote the clubs existence to the general public, our achievements over the years, demonstrate the high skill levels of our members and most of all the wonderful craft of woodturning. From the feedback it was clear that all those involved did “celebrate and enjoy” their input into the event. In the case of (b) the club are pleased to say we raised around £6000 for two local hospices. That alone was worth all the hard work to think that other less fortunate people will benefit from our efforts. Thank you to all our members, helpers, sponsors and businesses for prizes and donations, together you all made what is going to be a memorable weekend in the club’s history.

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Godfrey’s GoneRevsHQ is, I’m sad to report, in deep mourning for the loss of a team member. Black clouds loom over the wriggly tin front door. Blackout blinds… a blitz leftover … are at half-mast and even the coffee machine has stopped dispensing milk. Our long-serving Expletives Editor Godfrey Diggins A’Day, a chap of rich, if limited, vocabulary, has passed to another realm.

It was only 10 days ago that God, (even his nickname doesn’t seem quite so apt now!) brought his last piece of turned work in for our inspection. I really wish I hadn’t sniggered quite so readily at his goblet-with-elastoplast-stem. I’ll miss these private exhibitions, when his ham-fisted attempts at turning made even mine seem almost acceptable.

Just days later each of the RevsTeam was formally presented with a keepsake, one of the old chap’s prized turning tools which, he never tired of telling us, had seen action in Flanders in the hands of the King’s Own Woodcraft Pioneers, Armoured Troop, (KOWPATS to you and me). His beloved lathe had also been converted back into the treddly sewing machine from whence it came. Yes Revolutionaries, poor old Godfrey was lost to woodturning.

We will never know for sure if it was a magazine in the dentist’s waiting room that turned his head but just a day after his new dentures were fitted he came skipping into RevsHQ wearing a peal of bells on each ankle and waving a pair of off-grey handkerchiefs gaily above his head. He sounded like a squadron of tap dancing budgies and filled the air with crusty nose-shrapnel. God, it seemed, had caught a nasty dose of Morris Dancing.

Following this sudden and dramatic downfall a series of tense negotiations ensued with our sister publication ‘Morrismen Monthly’. The result was a more or less mutually agreeable swap.

I’m pleased to report, the new office kitten, Sickamore, (he’s not a good traveller!), is settling in just fine but until he gets to grips with the nuances of publishable expletives I am afraid I will be forced to leave each of you Revolutionaries to add your own.

Splitting HeadacheMost of us Revolutionaries began our journey down the woody road using seasoned blanks bought with Her Majesty’s good old fashioned, pre-cashcard beer vouchers. Sooner or later the realisation strikes that logs, to be freely found crawling through the verge-grass or floating on the local briny, are made of the very same stuff as expensive blanks and that they also, contrary to childhood parental advice, do actually grow on trees.

“Purloin green log; whack it on lathe; dodge flying bark, enjoy never-seen-before ribbon-like shavings festooning the workshop; carry finished goblet proudly indoors for wifely …or husbandly… inspection. Sleep snuggled in cloud of satisfaction of having made something wonderful from such unpromising beginnings; wake up to sound of beloved project cracking from top to bottom; fill swear box before returning to shelling out for prepared blanks.”

That, I suspect, is a reasonable summation of most turners first foray into turning green timber. To fully understand what went wrong, and, probably more importantly, how to encourage a little more success next time we need a less-than detailed understanding of just how a tree works. (Owners of mainstream biology qualifications might like to slip away at this point and make the rest of us a nice cuppa while Prof. Hollett dons his bat-like gown and tasselled mortar board and takes to the lectern).

Think of a tree (and its offspring, the log) as a rather large bunch of minute, but very long, drinking straws sealed inside a wrapping of knobbly, brown cling film, the whole package being thoroughly saturated with sap, which is exactly like water except stickily different. This sap was manufactured within the tree’s roots from a mixture of water and tasty nutrients nicked from the surrounding soil. Following manufacture the sap was sent by tree-mail up the trunk-straws en-route to the leaves. When it got there most of the water was allowed to escape to atmosphere, leaving a low pressure area to syphon up the next batch of sap. The remainder was then hubblybubbled with sunlight… and a little minor

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witchcraft… before being returned down different drinking straws to be delivered to every part of the tree. Here it was miraculously converted into a layer of slimy new wood. Yes, dear Revolutionary, it really is as simple as that, I’ve no idea why those tea-making biologists have to resort to Latin and gobbledegook to explain it amongst their selves!

OK, that’s got the theory out of the way so let’s cut to the bit that most effects Revs World. If we cut through our tree, the first stage in the manufacture of a log, we will expose the cut ends of all those wet drinking straws. Round about the middle somewhere, (not necessarily central due to outside influences effecting the tree’s growth patterns), we find the pith (in some species, such as walnut, this will take the form of a small tube; in others, like elder, it will appear as a similar tube but filled with a cotton wool-like substance, while softwood pith will be just solid(ish) wood).

Surrounding the pith is the heartwood, which is usually about 2/3 of the tree’s diameter and may, or may not, be a different colour according to species. This heartwood is, as already mentioned, saturated with sap (otherwise it would rot ….this, incidentally, is how Robin Hood’s abode was formed) and remains relatively inert to play no part in the tree’s growth. What it does do, however, is act as the tree’s skeleton, supporting its immense weight and allowing it to stand up to all but the strongest winds.

Surrounding this heartwood is the much younger sapwood, where most of the clever stuff goes on. These are the drinking straws that carry the sap up from the roots en-route to the leaf-and-witchcraft departments. This wood is, incidentally, more prone to fungal attack than the better-figured heartwood, and so never used for rot-inducing work like boat building.

Beyond the sapwood, and just below the knobbly cling film, (technical term:- ‘Bark’), is the cambium, a stickily smooth layer where new wood is constantly being laid down. Finally we arrive at the bark itself whose job is similar to our skin in that it keeps the tree’s innards in and the outside world, and all its infectious nasty’s, out.

What’s all that go to do with a cracked goblet?The drinking straws within our newly felled log are still full of the sap which was being transported around the tree at time of felling. At this stage the log is described as ‘Green’. This free sap is easily lost and on some timbers can almost be seen running out of the wood. During this initial drying period there will be relatively little movement or shrinkage within the timber, simply because the walls of the drinking straws are still saturated and able to support their original working size and shape. Once the free sap has escaped and we term the log as ‘Wet’ the secondary stuff can start to move and this is where

the problems start to arise. Obviously the moisture nearer the cut ends of the log will be lost first, this allows it’s drinking straws to shrink and close, slowing down the movement of the moisture deeper within the log. So now we have the end inch or two of the log trying to shrink while the rest is still supported in its original form by the moisture trapped within. The result is a mass of stresses and strains set up across the surface of the wood which results in….yes, you guessed it… cracks and shakes and a ruined goblet.

So what can we do about it?The best first step is to, whenever possible, get rid of the pith during the cutting operations because this is the epicentre of all drying problems.

It is possible, but expensive and time consuming, to replace all that moisture within the wood with a waxy substance called polysomethingunpronouncable, (this is what has been done to preserve the hull of the Mary Rose by the way). Unfortunately this method is probably beyond the reach of your average Revolutionary so he will need to:-

Restrict the speed of the drying process at the wood’s cut ends so that the deeply-held moisture has a chance to replace that already lost to the surrounding air, this keeps the straws equally wet throughout their length and stops their ends from collapsing and blocking the escape route.

My favoured method is to seal the previously roughed out blank, (why go to the trouble of drying the wood you aren’t going to keep?) in a paper carrier bag on a darkly spider-infested shelf at the back of my wood store. The moisture from the wood escapes into the bag but the paper then slows its onward journey to fresh air, keeping the humidity high and slowing the rate of drying. This isn’t, of course, the only method known to turnerkind so perhaps, if you have another preferred method, you might like to drop us a line and share your thoughts with the rest of us.

Tarra

Houn Pine Box George Watkins

I first worked with Huon pine about 10 years ago when I bought a selection of Australian and Tasmanian timber from a specialist importer. It’s not an easy timber to find and I have only managed to buy the odd small piece since.

Huon pine is a fantastic timber to work with. Its natural oil and slow growing nature means it cuts and takes fine detail well. The oil is also a natural insect repellent and makes the workshop smell nice for days after it has been worked.

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I always make wooden boxes from roughed out stock, this ensures that the wood is dry and stable and acclimatised to a heated home environment. Roughing out is very simple to do and an essential step in making sure the box stays concentric over time, which in turn ensures the fit of the lid stays how you make it (whether that be good or bad!).

To rough out, I usually begin with a spindle blank of 2 ½” to 3” square, I mark the centres with a pencil, photo 1. I then mount the piece between centres using a 4 prong drive, photo 2. With a spindle roughing gouge I turn the piece until it is cylindrical, photo 3. Then I cut a dovetail tenon on each end to suit my chuck with a skewed negative rake scraper, photo 4.

Now is a good time to look over the blank carefully and decide which will be the top and bottom of the box, to see if there are any faults which need avoiding like the dead knot shown here in photo 5. There are many different proportions that box makers use: 1/3rd to 2/3rds, 50/50 and 2/5ths to 3/5ths are some of my favourites, photo 6.

Using a thin parting tool I begin to part the lid from the base but stop before going all the way through, photo 7. Remove the piece from between centres and finish the parting cut with a fine tooth saw, photos 8 & 9. Mount the lid into a chuck and using either a ¼” spindle gouge or small round nose scraper remove a small area from the centre of the lid, photo 10. I like to remove just a small area as it leaves me more options for the design of the box at a later date. How much you remove is up to you but you need to bear in mind the design of the finished box and the amount of movement which might occur, which will have to be corrected at a later date.

Remove the lid and mount the base in the chuck and remove a portion of the interior before removing it from the chuck, photo 11. Finally I like to tape the two halves of the box together and write the wood and date of the roughing out on the tape, photo 12. I place these rough outs into a cupboard in my house and leave them for at least three months but usually a year or two, especially if they are a dense exotic wood like African blackwood or cocobolo.

I selected a different Huon pine blank which I had in my drying cupboard and mounted the lid into the chuck. After truing up the outside of the blank I began to shape the lid design with a ¾” round nose negative rake scraper, photo 13. With some initial external shaping complete I cut the female tenon inside the lid with a skewed negative rake scraper, photo 14. Using the round nose scraper I hollow out the interior of the box to a gentle curve, photo 15. With the lathe stopped, I check the lid tenon with a pair of callipers. It is important that the tenon has parallel sides if the lid is to be a successful fit to the base, photo 16.

Once I’m happy with the tenon I carefully sand the curved interior, being careful not to touch any part of the tenon and working my way from 240 to 600 grit, photo 17. Due to the oily nature of the wood and the pale straw colour, I choose to apply lemon oil because it is totally matt and will be compatible with the oily wood, photo 18. With the inside of the lid now complete I remove it from the chuck and mount the base into it. After truing up the outside, I create a male tenon to enable me to jam the lid onto the base, photos 19 & 20. With the lid jammed onto the base I can now finish shaping the lid using a ¼” spindle gouge, photo 21. An advantage of this method is that I can remove the lid and check the thickness as many times as necessary. Once I’m happy with the lid’s shape, I sand and finish it as before, photo 22. I remove the lid and do some initial shaping on the exterior of the base of the box, photos 23 & 24. I hollow out the base using a mixture of the ¼” spindle gouge and an assortment of different shaped negative raked scrapers, photo 25. I sand and finish the inside of the box as before.

With a razor sharp skewed scraper I adjust the tenon so that the lid is a nice suction fit. I remove the base from the chuck and mount a piece of scrap wood and create a female jam fit tenon to enable me to jam the base into it, photos 26 & 27. Cutting towards the headstock, I very gently shape the exterior of the base with the ¼” spindle gouge, photo 28. When I am happy with the shape I sand and finish the base as before, photos 29 & 30.

The box is now complete; I hope you have enjoyed this article.

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The Luck of the IrishSam Webber

A view of the IWG 2014 Seminar, by an Englishman.

I understand that during the gold and silver rush years in the US of A, in the second half of the 19th century, a number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth. Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression ‘the luck of the Irish.’ Which is indeed both interesting and having little to do with this account other than ‘The luck of the Irish’ has a much more romantic ring to it than ‘The luck of an itinerant Brit’ to be invited to attend the IWG 2014 Seminar in Sligo’!

The IWG kindly invited a member of the Association of Woodturners Great Britain (AWGB) to attend the Seminar, and so it was that I, Sam Webber, Secretary of that organisation, was the fortunate delegate.

I sometimes refer to ‘my halcyon bachelor days’ when I holidayed with my car and custom frame-tent, and it was in this fashion that I first visited the island of Ireland about forty years ago doing a full anti-clockwise circumnavigation. I learned then that the Irish are a ‘race apart’ when it comes to hospitality. In the intervening years I have travelled a fair bit, yet when returning to the ‘Emerald Isle’ on 26 September to be kindly collected from Belfast airport by Richard Greer, I knew that I was back in the ‘welcome zone’.

None of which has a helluva lot to do with woodturning or the Seminar to which I will now ‘turn’ my attention. I am a hobby woodturner fortunate enough to live around the corner from Stuart Mortimer who is known to many of you, and who taught me pretty well all I know – about woodturning anyway! With this background I rate myself a passable judge of things woodturning, and I could conclude my article here simply by saying that the IWG staged a quite exemplary Seminar. But I should be more explicit.

First of all there was the location. I am a complete convert to what I call an ‘all-under-one-roof’ function. All the elements, demos, meals, trade stands and sleeping were all in one building. This makes, and